The actor and the architect
by I'mADisgrace
Summary: Writing to an obligatory fanfiction prompt. Arthur is the straight-laced serious architect, Eames is the persistent and frustrating actor, they're both on a train.
1. Chapter 1

' **Obligatory FanFic AU's'**

Incredibly long cross-country train ride /On a train and the train is stopped in the middle of nowhere for some reason

Usually Arthur liked taking the train; in fact, it was his favourite method of transport. Travelling by plane may have been easier, but in his opinion, the sight of rolling hills and quaint villages rushing past the windows was far better than clouds. The train journey's when he had to work were slightly less enjoyable, as he had to sit staring at his computer screen mostly, rather than being able to look out of the window, but he could still put in his headphones and listen to something calming and beautiful as he took a smooth ride past hills and forests.

This train journey was turning out to be not as enjoyable.

Arthur had gotten to the train early and found his pre-booked seat quickly, setting up his laptop at the table and getting comfortable swiftly, preparing for the long journey ahead.

After not too long, the train had filled, and Arthur thought for the longest time that he'd be sitting alone, the space opposite him vacant- until the very last moment that was.

Seconds before the doors of the train closed before the departure, the blur of a man had sprinted past Arthur's window, a suitcase bouncing in hand. The blur apparently then boarded the train, as Arthur then saw a man who resembled it down at the far end of the carriage, talking with a bright smile to a flustered stewardess. Arthur then watched as the man started to shuffle down the aisle, apologising loudly for his lateness to everyone he passed, the huge, cocky smile still covering his face.

"Here we are" the man then beamed once he got to Arthur's table, and he shoved his suitcase onto the overhead shelf above the seat, "Good afternoon" he nodded to the ravenette, sitting opposite him,

Arthur stared at the man for a moment before giving him a small nod and going back to his laptop.

He could tell from his demeanour and flamboyant dress that this man was not the sort of person he would usually make acquaintance with, and that he was more likely to annoy him than anything else,

"The name's Eames by the way" the man said after a moment, the train having just started to move, "Thomas Eames",

Arthur looked up at him again, his gaze quickly becoming a glare,

"Have you got a name?" he then asked, in a very British accent, suave and smooth,

The ravenette sighed and looked back to his computer, his fingers running over the keys quickly, "Arthur" he answered quietly, determined to assert his disinterest,

"Fantastic name" Eames beamed, earning an eye roll from the other man, as well as a _slight_ involuntary blush.

0o0o0

The train journey had been awkward enough with Eames trying to make conversation with Arthur at every possible moment, like the times when the American would take his headphones off, listening to the train announcements, but it was made worse when the train suddenly ground to a halt, causing bags to fall from the overhead shelf and people to shout out in surprise.

"Must be something on the track" Eames commented as Arthur took his headphones off again,

The Brit's blue eyes were focused on the field outside until they finally fell on Arthur again,

"Are you okay?" he asked, his signature smirk showing itself once more,

Arthur nodded stiffly and looked back to his computer.

His brows then furrowed- it wasn't charging anymore.

The ravenette checked the plug, but it was still securely in place, he then flicked the outlet off and on again, but there was no change in his laptops status,

There was then a sudden clicking from above, and the gently buzzing the AC unit stopped, the cold air no longer pouring out of it,

"Looks like the power's off" Eames said, their eyes meeting once more, "You know what that means" he added,

"What?" Arthur frowned,

"You've got to conserve your battery. No more laptop" the blonde replied, and with that he extended his hand, his forefinger pointing outwards and he slowly closed the lap top. He then quickly put his hand back into his lap and smiled, "We'll have to talk",

Arthur's eyes rolled again and he sighed,

He then took his phone from his pocket and plugged his headphones into that instead, turning on the music quickly and letting his eyes drift closed.

0o0o0

Arthur woke to the horrible feeling of his face burning,

He grimaced as he felt a bead of sweat run down the side of his face, and he yanked the headphones from his ears, opening his eyes and adjusting his seating, attempting to find a position that wasn't quite so hot and sticky,

"We haven't started moving again yet" Eames told him, a paper fan now in hand and his bright paisley shirt now unbuttoned even further down his chest, showing off even more of his clavicles.

"Great" Arthur growled and he took a tissue from his pocket, wiping some of the sweat off of his brow,

"You should take your tie off you know, and maybe even your waist coat" the Brit told him,

"No thank you" he sighed, trying to ignore the man again,

"You'll overheat" Eames frowned, "Who where's a suit on a train anyway?",

"It's better than the mish-mash you're wearing" Arthur snapped.

It was true, he was wearing a rather peculiar and somewhat ugly combination of clothes- a tan jacket and a pair of dark brown slacks with a vibrant orange and pink shirt, with swirling paisley designs across it.

The ravenette then closed his eyes again, trying to find sleep once more,

He could barely even think of sleeping however, the heat of the sun and the enclosed train carriage sticking close, make him sweat unbearably.

After only a few minutes Arthur let out a growl of defeat and he pulled at his tie, loosening it from around his neck,

"Told you so" Eames said, staring at him with a smile, "So Arthur-" he began, shifting in his seat, "-what do you do?",

Arthur simply glared at the man in response,

"Oh come on, we could be stuck here for at least another hour, we could make a little conversation, try and pass the time" he frowned, his blue eyes taking on a puppy-dog like sadness,

"Fine" the American grumbled, "I'm an architect".

"I would never have guessed" Eames replied, "Although you do strike me as probably being rather good at drawing straight lines" he shrugged,

"What?" Arthur asked, a little confused by what he was saying,

"I'm an actor myself, stage work mostly, classical theatre",

"Classical work?" the ravenette asked arching an eyebrow- he would almost admit that he found that amusing, he didn't think the man could name a piece of classic theatre, let alone understand the complex language used in one to act it out.

"Yes" Eames nodded, apparently having not picked up on any of the disbelief in the question, "I recently played Volpone",

Arthur's eyes widened at that, "Volpone? As in the lead role in the play 'Volpone'?",

"Yes" Eames nodded, "I got rather good reviews too" he beamed proudly,

"Huh" the ravenette murmured.

0o0o0

It was much longer until Arthur decided to go back to working on his laptop, it being one of the few things he had with him that could distract him from the excruciatingly close heat that filled the train carriage,

The ravenette was quite sure however, that the last two or three paragraphs he'd written had made sense whatsoever.

He sighed and sat back in his seat, his hands slumping from where they hovered over the keyboard,

The American's view of the bright computer screen than blurred for a second, as his eyes focused to a point beyond it, and just as his vision began to crisp up again, he caught sight of a pair of blue eyes watching him closely.

Eames perked up a huge grin when he saw that he's been noticed staring,

"Can I help you mister Eames?" Arthur asked, his fingers going back to darting over his laptop's keyboard,

"It's just Eames" the man replied, "And no" he chuckled,

"Are you sure? You seem to be staring at me" he said stiffly.

"Very sure, I'm just enjoying the view" Eames shrugged,

"The countryside?" Arthur suggested,

"No, your beautiful eyes",

And then it happened, a genuine blush bloomed across the ravenette's cheeks, and if possible, he felt even more flush.

"E-excuse me?" he stuttered, his eyes wide and focused on Eames who was wearing an extremely proud expression,

"Your eyes, they're gorgeous, really wonderful" he said leaning forward, his arms resting on the table between them,

"They're… they're brown" Arthur said, immediately regretting the comment when he realised just how stupid it sounded,

"Yes, yes they are, aren't they?" Eames laughed, "Browner than brown in fact darling".

The American's eyes widened further still, "What did you call me?",

"Darling" the other replied, "Why?",

"That's my-" Arthur cut himself off, _No, he couldn't have known_ , "Never mind" he righted himself,

"Okay then" Eames said, he then rested his chin in his tabled palm and continued to stare at the man opposite him.

"Are you going to keep staring at me like that then?" the ravenette frowned,

"Definitely darling" the Brit smirked, winking at him.

Arthur grunted and opted to ignore the other man as best he could, choosing to disregard the last minute of conversation,

He began to read what he had been writing and concluded that indeed made very little sense. He sighed and sunk a little further into his seat,

"Come come darling, it's much too hot to be doing work" Eames said, suddenly standing from his seat, "Let's do something else instead" he added, side stepping around his end of the table, sauntering down the central isle of the train, and plopping himself into the vacant seat beside Arthur,

The American glared at him for a moment, "I think it's probably too hot to be sat next to each other either" he snapped, trying to reduce his proximity to the other man,

"Oh please, you're acting like I just shat in your cereal" Eames sighed, his eyes going to the ravenette's computer, "Now this looks incredibly boring" he said, grabbing the laptop and sliding it along the surface of the table to sit in front of him,

"Hey! What are you-" Arthur yelped, watching helplessly as the Brit opened a tab for the internet and clicked the link for YouTube,

"I'm not trying to steal from you! I'm just looking for something to watch" Eames said softly, as his tanned fingers worked over the keyboard, "Ahh, here we go" he added, selecting a video, and readjusting the computers position on the table so that it sat between them.

The loading video was titled 'Doctor Faustus, The Globe, Act one, 2008' and despite his frustration at the man beside him, Arthur couldn't help but find that his interest was piqued- at least Eames had an interesting and impressive profession and a half-decent taste in material to watch.

After a good twenty minutes filled with dialogue from the Faustus character, the demon Mephistopheles was finally summoned- at first, a hideous puppet hobbled onto the stage, controlled by three black clad men, but Faustus found its appearance offensive and asked for it to appear instead to him as a Franciscan Friar. The puppet left the stage through the door at the back, and after thirty seconds, a man stepped onto the stage instead.

At first, Arthur could barely believe his eyes, but then he considered the fact that Eames was the one showing him the video, and he determined that what he was seeing must have been true,

The actor playing the demon Mephistopheles was Eames, visibly a few years younger and paler than he was now, but it was undoubtedly him.

When the video came to a close, the actor glanced over to Arthur, who couldn't help but nod and smile softly,

"You were very good" he admitted, shifting to be more comfortable in his seat, "And the Globe, that's very impressive too",

"Thank you" Eames beamed, "That was my second time performing at the globe, a few years earlier I was in a production of 'Twelfth Night'" he explained, "Would you like to see?",

If it hadn't been for the fact that the train was still showing no sign of starting again, Arthur might have said no, but on this occasion, he saw absolutely no point in doing any more work- he nodded and shrugged noncommittally.

Eames smiled widely and set about typing on the laptop again, this time leaving it in place and leaning across the other man slightly as he searched for the right video.

This video was far shorter than the first Arthur had been shown by the actor, and it instead showed the play's end rather than its start,

The ravenette couldn't help but let out a chuckle as the video loaded and revealed an image of Eames stood at center stage, dressed head to toe in a flamboyant red and yellow outfit,

"I was Feste" Eames replied, laughing just as much, if not more so himself,

"The fool? Seems very fitting" Arthur replied, drawing his attention entirely to the screen as Eames spoke the play's final monologue.

As the final words were spoken, the brightness of the computers screen increased, and the train lurched to life, slowly starting across the track again,

"Well I suppose I'll leave you to your work again" Eames beamed, minimizing the video with a couple of quick clicks,

The internet tab, and Arthur's paperwork from earlier _both_ closed however, leaving the screen depicting Arthur's screensaver instead.

The image was bright and white, glowing from the laptop distractingly,

It showed an intricately designed building, with complex curves and peculiar additions that made it to be the most unique building Eames had ever seen,

"Did you design that?" he asked, pointing at the screen as Arthur regained control of his computer,

"Oh" he said softly, pausing his finger from clicking back to his document, "Yes. I designed it a few years ago" he nodded,

"Then how come it's not decorating a skyline in some huge city somewhere?" Eames chuckled,

The American shrugged, "I only designed it for fun" he replied, "I mostly do paperwork for the firm these days, so it's more of a pretty picture than an actual design",

The blonde was gawking at him, "They have you stuck doing paperwork when you can design buildings like that?" he asked, hardly believing what he was hearing.

Arthur shrugged again, "It's not so bad",

Eames sighed and stood from the seat, heading back to his own, "You're wasted at that place, wherever it is. They should give you a raise" he said as he lowered into the chair,

Arthur smiled softly behind the screen of the laptop, unable to deny his gratitude and embarrassment.

0o0o0

An hour later it was announced that the train would be reaching its final destination very soon, and Arthur took that as a sign to start getting ready to leave.

He closed his laptop and hoisted his bag onto the seat beside him so that he could start packing it again, slipping his computer and his notebooks in neatly,

He then re-dressed himself as best as he could with the limited elbow space, and rested his hands in his lap as he watched the very final edges of countryside turn into residential streets and then a city.

Eames had been awfully quiet for the last half an hour, and despite still feeling a bit of an intolerance towards the man, Arthur would be lying if he said he hadn't wondered why,

The ravenette looked over to the other man, his arms folding across his chest.

Eames smiled immediately as their eyes caught one another, "I was thinking" he began, shifting in his seat slightly,

"That sounds extremely dangerous" Arthur replied quickly, earning a chuckle from the other man,

"I assure you it's not darling" he said, his hand going into his pocket, he then pulled out his wallet and flicked it open, coming to the notes section, "It strikes me that you're a very busy man, but, if you find yourself, not so busy, or in need of a break, you would be very welcome to come and see me in a production of the Scottish play" he said, taking out a strip of cardboard from his wallet and handing it over to Arthur.

The ravenette was more than a little taken aback, but he found himself very reluctantly taking the offered ticket,

"You know, if you have the time while you're in the city" Eames said, the train now starting to slow, as it came very near to the station,

"If I have the time" Arthur said, looking at the ticket for only a moment before sliding it into his pocket and looking back to the actor, "Thank you" he added, slightly begrudgingly,

"You're very welcome-" Eames nodded, "-darling" he added, standing quickly and gathering his bags, leaving Arthur more than a little flustered.


	2. Chapter 2

Arthur tapped the thick card ticket against his fingers, drumming it at a steady pace as he observed the queue stretching on at either side of him. It was an interesting mixture of slightly older man and women, dressed for the function of keeping warm rather than an evening at the theatre, as well as a flurry of hipsters who seemed to adjust their wide rimmed glasses or stroke their thick, lumberjack-esque beards in unison. On either front, Arthur in his smart work suit and with his cleanly shaven face, felt entirely out of place.

But he wouldn't go as far as to say that he was regretting the decision to go and watch Eames in his play, in fact, all things aside, he was truly looking forward to it.

At first, he had almost forgotten about it, although not entirely, he knew there was something he was forgetting, he just wasn't sure what it was exactly. It was only when Arthur had gotten back from work one evening, late, and found the ticket to the show folded in his wallet -when paying for a hugely overpriced Thai takeout- that he realised just what had been playing on his mind.

He saw no reason why he shouldn't go, it was something different to do a city he didn't know all that well, he wasn't burdened with work that evening and the ticket had been free, a gift, from an actor in the production no less.

Arthur sighed at the thought of Eames, he was frustrated by the Brit's tendency to make anyone like him, annoyingly even Arthur himself he had admitted after much rumination on the subject.

He shook his head, bringing himself back to the moment, finding that the bustling line had started to crowd closer to the front doors,

Arthur followed them, passing a poster for the play as he went- he half expected to see Eames on it, having the man on his mind- and soon enough he was passing into the foyer, slipping by the other slow moving patrons. After another half an hour of being pushed about, Arthur had his ticket checked, and was directed to his seat, which to his surprise was as close to the stage as the second row, giving him a good view of everything, he then settled, taking off his smart jacket, and watched as the other spectators filed into their seats, talking amongst themselves.

To his intrigue, the row in front of him was soon occupied by more individuals dressed like himself, in neat suits that was. He realised immediately why that was: they were critics and reviewers, ready to scrutinise the play.

Once the aisles were filled, the lights dimmed dramatically and the thick, dust coated curtains dressing the stage parted, revealing three hideous witches gathered around a broiling pot that spilled dry ice mist,

Shrugging his shoulders and sinking further into his seat, Arthur got comfortable, setting his focus upon the tragic story of MacBeth unfolding before him, vaguely wondering when it was that Eames would show himself.

0o0o0

It wasn't until act two, scene three that the man himself appeared on stage, dressed in clothing of the period, predominantly made from black and grey materials,

"Was it so late, friend, ere you went to bed, that you do lie so late?" he asked, addressing the Porter.

Arthur couldn't help but crack a small smile as he watched Eames. He seemed to be the only none American actor in the production, meaning that his Scottish accent actually sounded as such, and not like a slightly unsure Irishman.

More notably however, his acting ability was fantastic, and Arthur found himself completely immersed in the play, regardless of the fact that he had indeed read MacBeth before, and as such knew the end game,

Before long, the ravenette couldn't even imagine anyone else playing Lord MacDuff, and by the final scene, and Eames' return to the stage holding a replica of the lead actors head, Arthur had almost entirely forgotten that he was watching a play- he wouldn't have even cared if Eames had truly killed 'MacBeth'.

After all the actors returned to the stage, they were given a standing ovation, contributed to enthusiastically by Arthur of course, and after they departed and the lights raised once again, he immediately stood again, grabbing his blazer and programme.

0o0o0

Arthur found himself stalling at the dressing room door, his hands static at his sides as he looked at the strip of masking tape bearing Eames' name that was plastered across it,

' _T. Eames'_.

With a shake of his head, he licked his bottom lip and lifted his hand decisively, knocking three times resolutely against the wood,

After just a few seconds, it opened, revealing Eames stooped in the doorway, his free hand working at drying his neck with a towel, and his hair mussed and dripping,

"Oh-" Arthur said, backing away a little at being faced with Eames' bare chest.

But the Brit looked thrilled, "You came!" he cheered, standing straight and pursuing the man out into the corridor.

To the ravenette's utter shock, he was then enveloped into a tight hug from the other man,

"You actually came to see me, that's brilliant" he laughed as they parted, going back to drying his neck,

"Well you gave me the ticket" Arthur shrugged, intending on averting his eyes, only to find them being caught instead by the largest of the tattoo's decorating Eames' chest,

It depicted both a comedy and a tragedy mask, with the words 'Smile now, Cry later' etched around them,

Eames hadn't seemed to notice however, "Come in, come in" he said, beckoning in the American,

Arthur nodded and followed him into the dressing room, gazing about it as he went.

It was a comfortably large room with a dressing table, a rack with a sparse amount of clothes hanging from it, a lounge seat and a standing partition, another door was set into the far wall, leading into a small bathroom,

"Close the door if you don't mind" Eames said heading to the partition, tossing the towel over it as he went, "And take a seat, I'm just going to get changed",

The ravenette did as he was told, and by the time he sat on the lounger, the other man had disappeared behind the partition.

"So, what did you think?" Eames asked after a moment, the trousers he had been wearing joining the towel on the top of the wooden divider,

"You were fantastic" Arthur answered, nodding, seeing no reason to spare the truth,

"Thanks" he laughed, "I really am glad you came",

"So am I" he agreed.

To say that the American was feeling uncomfortable would be somewhat of an understatement.

Eames was a pleasant man, this was indisputable, but Arthur hardly knew him, and now he was sat in his dressing room, waiting for him to get changed- he could very well have been naked behind the thin wooden partition, only five feet away,

Arthur blushed and looked instead to the other side of the room.

He caught his own reflection in the lightbulb bordered mirror and saw that some of his hair had fallen from its usual neat swoop,

With a gentle sigh the ravenette lifted one hand to brush it back into place, squinting a little to get a clear view of himself in the mirror that was ten feet away. It was only when he was satisfied with his tidied appearance that Arthur noticed what else the mirror was reflecting, making his cheeks flush even darker.

He couldn't fathom how he hadn't noticed sooner, as while he was only reflected in about a third of the mirror, Eames took up perhaps a whole half of it.

The American had hardly had the time to inspect Eames' tattoo's earlier, but now he could at the very least see one crossing his shoulder blade clearly. It was thick and black, tribal in design and bold, whilst still oddly elegant and beautiful. Arthur had never thought much of tattoos, not of getting one himself, nor of other people's, but he had to admit that Eames' were unique and intriguing, he would even say that he wouldn't mind giving them a closer look…

He quickly averted his eyes again,

"I won't be another minute darling!" Eames then called after a moment, "Just trying to find my belt" he chuckled,

"Don't worry about it" Arthur replied, standing from the lounger quickly and turning his back on the mirror, he then winced and set about wiping his uncomfortably sweating hands on his jacket, having only noticed now how clammy they felt.

"All done" Eames then said,

The other man turned back to find that the Brit had stepped out from behind the partition, now fully dressed.

To his great surprise however, the actor was dressed in a fine three-piece suit, each piece of which actually matching one another, it was charcoal black and the shirt, with its top two, black buttons undone, was pristine white.

"Shall we go?" he then asked, gathering a smart looking, and very long coat from the back of his dressing table chair, along with an umbrella that he hooked on the crook of his elbow,

"What?" Arthur replied, raising an eyebrow at him,

"I thought we could go for a drink. There's a nice pub around the corner, not too far from the real thing too" the blonde answered,

"The real thing?" the other said, an amused smile starting to turn his lips up, the embarrassment from only a few moments earlier now almost entirely forgotten.

"A pub back home" Eames smirked, "A _real_ pub",

"I see" the ravenette chuckled,

"Interested?"

"Sure" Arthur nodded, shrugging softly,

"Right this way then darling" Eames said, opening the dressing room door and gesturing out into the corridor.

0o0o0

Arthur watched as a gentle stream of water trickled gracefully from the spout of rustic copper jug, falling into the glass before him, the amber liquid already inside swirling and bubbling as it mixed with the water, the oily drink softening,

"Watering down my drink?" he asked, looking up at Eames who was the one pouring the water, his eyebrow arching and a grin spreading over his face, "So you're not trying to get me drunk?",

The Brit smirked as he lowered the jug back down to the bar top, "Nothing like that" he said taking up the glass instead and twisting it in hand, making the contents whirl and mix, "Sometimes whiskeys taste better with just a little bit of water in, go on, give it a try" he concluded, nodding at the glass.

Arthur stared at him for a moment longer, musing at his educated tone when he spoke on the topic, he then nodded however and took the glass, pausing briefly to smell the drink within, noting that it smelt of the sea, and the earth, but no sea or earth he'd encountered before. The man then lifted the glass to his lips and took a long sip of the whiskey, revelling in the gentle burn, that spread across his tongue as he did. He then washed the drink about his mouth, delighting in the salty flavour, before swallowing it, feeling the scorch sinking down his throat once more,

"And?" Eames asked, watching him carefully,

Arthur let out one long breath as he looked over the glass again, putting it back on the bar, "That was very good",

"I told you" the blonde chuckled, now placing his attention on his own drink.

"You seem to know a lot about this" The American commented, observing as the other drank his whiskey,

"About what?" Eames asked with a satisfied sigh once he'd swallowed the mouthful of alcohol, glancing back across the bar to him,

"Whiskey" the ravenette answered,

"Oh yeah, us Brit's start drinking from an early age" he said with a chuckle,

"Yeah?" Arthur spluttered, unable to stop himself from laughing at the idea.

"The drinking age is younger in Europe, didn't you know?" the blonde smirked, lifting his drink once more,

The other man didn't answer, and instead watched as Eames finished his drink, "Tell me about it? England, your home?",

"Oh, not a huge amount to tell I'm afraid" he replied, signalling the bartender to refill his drink, "Just a simple childhood growing up in Hammersmith, that's in London. It was me, my mum and my sister most of the time. I went to acting school when I was seventeen, was in a few low budget films, but then turned to theatre after doing some English courses. Worked my way up, got some good reviews, and then eventually moved here when I had the money. The rest, as they say, is history" he concluded, glancing over at his one man captive audience,

"You have a sister?" Arthur asked, immediately feeling ridiculous for not having a better observation.

"Yeah, a younger sister, Amelia, she'll be leaving university soon actually, graduating" Eames nodded, "You must have gone, to university?",

"Oh, yeah, Columbia" the architect nodded,

The Brit's eyes widened, "Columbia? That's pretty prestigious, isn't it?",

Arthur's blush as he busied himself with his drink once again was as much an answer as the man needed however.

"How about you? Where did you grow up? Got any siblings?" Eames asked after a moment, having stifled a laugh at his overtly embarrassed reaction,

"No, it was just me and my parents, we lived in LA" The ravenette then shrugged, "They always said they were going to have another kid, but after fifteen years of raising me, they were too old for it really",

"Must've been nice having all the attention though" the other man laughed.

"Feeling a little spurned are you?" Arthur scoffed, "Did the younger sibling get all your mom's time?",

Eames' face then fell slightly, his eyes focusing on his once again empty glass, "No actually… I- I had a little trouble for a few years growing up a-and, and my mum had to take some time off work to look after me. Amelia was fine, got ignored a little bit though",

The American could almost feel the air between them drop by a few degrees as the other man spoke, the words filling him with an odd sense of dread.

"What kind of trouble?" he asked softly,

Eames shrugged, "What other kind of trouble does a ruffian teen get into?" he said with sardonic laugh, "Drugs, alcohol, that sort of stuff" he then shrugged again, "I only drink on special occasions now, and I'll have a cigar every now and again, couldn't quite give up the smoking, so I thought I may as well do it in style" shrugging, her then added: "It looks especially good at the poker tables when I indulge in my other little addiction too" as an after thought,

Arthur considered the new information for a second, before a warm smile spread onto his face again, "So this is a special occasion then?".

"What?" the Brit asked in return, finally looking at him again,

"You're drinking, must mean this is a special occasion, right?" the ravenette smirked, lifting his whiskey,

Eames laughed, "Yeah, yeah it is darling" and with that he raised his own glass, clinking it gently against Arthur's with a broad beam now curving his lips.

0o0o0

Arthur laughed heartily as he walked alongside Eames down the corridor of the hotel he was staying in.

They'd spent a further hour in the bar, drinking them dry of the more than slightly overpriced whiskey that they'd taken a liking to, and then they'd hung around outside for another half hour, smoking and talking in the centre of the quiet street, illuminated by the sickly orange street lights as the smoke hung around them in a close, thick cloud. Eames on cigars, and Arthur on menthol cigarettes as always.

After that, when the temperature had dropped, Eames had said to call it a night, but offered to walk Arthur back to his hotel. At first the American had insisted that he could make it, but one slight drunken slip over a cobble stone had suggested otherwise, and they resolved to walk together in the end.

"I will send you the tickets, I promise" Eames nodded,

"And I'd love you to, all I'm saying, is that I move around for work a lot, so you might have trouble finding me" Arthur replied, his hand slipping into his pocket as he subconsciously searched for his keys, knowing that his door wasn't far off now,

"And I'm saying, I have my ways! I'll be able to get them to you!" the Brit insisted,

"I'd like to see that" the other man laughed,

"Well just wait, it'll happen" Eames assured him.

"Right, right" the ravenette nodded, finally finding the key between his wallet and cigarette case, he then came to a stop at the door labelled 427, the other man pausing beside him too,

"This it then?" he asked, looking the door up and down,

"Yeah, this is it" Arthur replied, pushing the key into the lock and turning it.

The door gave and opened against his weight, and the man took one step inside, before turning back to face Eames, remaining half out in the hallway,

"You know, to find me, you're going to have to know my last name" the American said, leaning on the door, his hand absently twisting the handle back and forth.

"I suppose I will" he replied, laughing gently, "Go on then, what is it?"

Arthur couldn't help but blush, as he realised the situation he had just gotten himself into,

"What?" Eames asked, now beaming wildly, "You brought it up! What is it? Tell me",

"It's Darling" he answered, his cheeks burning red,

"W-wait. Darling? Your name is Arthur Darling?" the other man responded, blinking with confusion as he spoke, "And I've been calling you-" he then paused and put his hand over his mouth, stifling a laugh.

Arthur had moved his gaze down to his shoes, but by the time Eames had finished laughing, he looked at him once more, to find that he was now giving him a warm smile,

"What a fantastic coincidence" the blonde nodded, "And what a fantastic name" he added "'Arthur Darling', like something from a story book",

Immediately the American was set at ease, and he even chuckled a little in return,

"I had a wonderful evening" the Brit then smiled, pushing his hands into his trouser pockets,

"Me too, really, it was great" he agreed, nodding.

"We'll do it again next time we're in the same city" and with that, Eames leant in and pressed a small kiss to Arthur's cheek, in fact, it was hardly a kiss, it was as close to a 'peck on the cheek' as Arthur had ever experienced,

"Sounds like a plan" the ravenette nodded, swallowing, "Goodnight",

"Goodnight" he nodded, turning to start back down the corridor.

Arthur stayed in the door way however, leaning on the frame, he then winced as the question he wished to ask overcame him, and it spilled clumsily from his mouth, "Was that -the kiss- like an eccentric actor thing, or an 'I like you' kind of thing?",

Eames paused, having only gotten two steps away, and he turned, shrugging softly, "That's just what I do to say goodbye to someone" he replied, sauntering forward,

"Oh" the American said, feeling like an idiot for having even commented on it,

"Someone I like very much" Eames added, now smiling brightly,

"Oh" Arthur repeated.

He then left the doorway and closed the gap between them, taking Eames' cheek in hand and guiding him into a kiss directly on the lips,

The blonde reacted instantly, placing both hands on Arthur's hips, and pressing his lips further against his,

They kissed a few more times to follow, with shorter, sharper movements, and then parted, moving away from one another a little.

"Goodnight" Eames nodded again, his hands finding their way back into his pockets,

"Goodnight" Arthur replied, stepping back into his doorway, "You want to come in?" he then asked, hardly missing a beat,

"Yes" the other man nodded, approaching once more,

"Good, get the door" the American said, disappearing into the room, closely pursued by the Brit, a deep flush now set across his cheek.

 **A/N- Chapter 2 was updated just to fix a couple of tiny things, but it's basically the same piece.**


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